2014 Grammy Awards Preview

Before you settle in for music’s big night, it probably helps a little to know what to expect from this year’s Grammy Awards. Like many recent outings (eh, who are we kidding . . . like every single Grammys ever), the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26 isn’t loaded with a ton of rock artists — there isn’t a single one among the nominees in the top two categories, Record of the Year and Album of the Year.

But scroll down the endless list of categories, and you’ll find a few artists who remember what guitars are for. And most of them are genuine legends. Plus, the program itself — which will air live on CBS at 8PM ET — will feature performances by some of the classic rockers who are up for awards this year (as well as a couple by artists who aren’t).

In the Best Rock Performance category, David Bowie‘s ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ (from his 2013 comeback album ‘The Next Day’) goes up against Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White and Led Zeppelin, who are nominated for their live performance of ‘Kashmir’ from the 2012 album ‘Celebration Day.’

Black Sabbath are up for a pair of awards for ‘God Is Dead?’ from their comeback album ’13′: Best Metal Performance and Best Rock Song, where they go against Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear’s ’Cut Me Some Slack’ (from Grohl’s ‘Sound City: Real to Reel’ documentary and soundtrack), and the Rolling Stones‘ ‘Doom and Gloom’ (from their 2012 hits compilation ‘Grrr!’).

The Best Rock Album category includes a pair of relative newcomers (Kings of Leon and Queens of the Stone Age) battling four veteran rockers for the award: Black Sabbath (’13′), Bowie (‘The Next Day’) Led Zeppelin (‘Celebration Day’) and Neil Young & Crazy Horse (‘Psychedelic Pill’).

Bowie, the Stones, McCartney and Metallica are also nominated for various packaging and historical awards, which are unlikely to be handed out during the televised portion of the show. A full list of classic-rock-related nominees is below.

The members of Black Sabbath will get their hands on an award either way, since they’re slated to present one of them sometime over the course of the ceremony’s three-plus hours. Steven Tyler has also been tapped to give one out.

If the awards themselves aren’t your thing, a handful of classic-rock artists will also perform at the ceremony. The most noteworthy include appearances by Lindsey Buckingham – who’ll take part in a finale that features join Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails – and Metallica, who will share the stage with classical pianist Lang Lang for a performance of their classic ‘One.’

McCartney and Ringo Starr will also be there and are scheduled to perform, but probably separately, unless they get onstage together when the Beatles receive their long-overdue Lifetime Achievement Award.

Welcome back to 102.9 WBLM

It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on . To keep your points and personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you. To activate your account, please confirm your password. When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites.

*Please note that your points, prizes and activities will not be shared between programs within our VIP network.

Welcome back to 102.9 WBLM

It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile. After you do this, you will be able to always log in to http://wblm.com using your original account information.